Texas Hold’em No Limit is played with 52 cards and the betting limits are set in advance. If you want to participate in a hand, you have to pay a blind. The blinds are also set in advance. In tournaments, the blinds often go up every so often. We call these ‘blind levels’. In poker, you have a small blind and a big blind.

Big Blind, Small Blind and Antes
In large tournaments there is a dealer who deals the cards. If there is no dealer at the table, the players deal the cards themselves. To make this as easy as possible, there is a disk that rotates clockwise each round to the next player. The game starts with the dealing of the two face-down cards for each player. The dealing goes clockwise and starts with the player to the left of the dealer. The player to the left of the dealer is also the small blind. The small blind is always required to bet a certain amount. To the left of the small blind sits the big blind. He too is required to bet a certain amount. In some tournaments you also have to deal with “ante”. This is a small amount that every player at the table is required to bet. Since 2017, a big blind ante has mainly been used during tournaments .

Before the flop
If you are playing a tournament and there are only two players left, the dealer is automatically the small blind and the other player is the big blind. When each player has his two cards and the blinds have placed their mandatory bets on the table, the hand can begin. The player sitting to the left of the big blind (1st position) has three options. He can “call”, which means that he places the amount that the big blind has bet on the table. His second option is to “raise” and finally he can also decide to fold the hand. If you fold, you throw away the cards and you do not have to show them either. The betting continues until every player who wants to participate in the hand has bet the same amount.

The flop
When the betting is finished, the first three cards can be dealt. The top card of the deck is not involved, in poker this is called a “burn” or fire card. The next step is to turn over three cards, which we call the “flop”. Now it is time to estimate how good the cards are that you have in your hand. What combinations do you already have and what combination could you possibly make with the two cards that are yet to come.

Action on the flop
The player to the left of the dealer “small blind” may now first decide what he is going to do. His first option is “check” and his second option is to raise “bet”. If the small blind bets, the other players can call, raise or fold. In the case of a call, you make the amount equal to the bet of the small blind. In the case of a raise, you go over him and in the case of a fold, you throw away your cards. This continues until the bet of everyone who still wants to play is equal.

The Turn
It is now time for the fourth community card. The top card of the deck is discarded again and the card after that is called the “turn”. Now there is another betting round where the small blind is again the first to decide what he is going to do.

The River
After the turn, the fifth and final community card also known as the “river” follows. After the river, the final betting round follows. If the bets of the players who still want to play are equal, a “showdown” follows. If everyone has checked on the river, the first player to the left of the dealer must reveal his or her cards first. If a player has made a bet or raise in the final round, it is his or her turn to reveal the cards first.

Showdown
The player with the best five-card combination wins the round. If you see that you have lost, you do not have to show your cards. In poker, this is also called “muck”. If both players have a hand that is worth the same, the pot is divided. If the five cards on the table are higher than the combination that the remaining players have in their hands, the pot is also divided.

[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> Dr Dre’s cards: [♦10] [♣10]
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> Ophidian’s cards: [♣5] [♣4]
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> The flop: [♦J] [♠J] [♦6]
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> The turn: [♦J] [♠J] [♦6] [♥J]
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> The river: [♦J] [♠J] [♦6] [♥J] [♠5]
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> Dr Dre had a full house: [♦J] [♠J] [♥J] [♦10] [♣10]
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> Ophidian had a full house: [♦J] [♠J] [♥J] [♠5] [♣5]
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> Dr Dre wins, €11000. that whas a nice hand Bro
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> Current standings: Dr Dre has €11000. Ophidian has €69000.
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> Round 26. Dr Dre is dealing. Dr Dre is the small blind this round; Ophidian is the big blind. Please wait....
[01:33] -Texas-Holdem- Your cards this round: [♣5] [♥8]
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> OK, Dr Dre is all-in, raising the bet by €8000 to €11000.
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> Ophidian: You are the big blind. The current pot is worth €17000. The bet is now at €11000. You have €63000 remaining. You can call for €5000 to stay in. If you wish to raise, the minimum raise is €6000. Do you wish to call, raise, or fold? If raise, how much (or all-in)? Or if you need me to show you your cards again, just ask.
[01:33] <~Ophidian> call
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> OK, Ophidian throws in €5000 and calls.
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> Dr Dre’s cards: [♥Q] [♦A]
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> Ophidian’s cards: [♣5] [♥8]
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> The flop: [♦10] [♦7] [♣9]
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> The turn: [♦10] [♦7] [♣9] [♣8]
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> The river: [♦10] [♦7] [♣9] [♣8] [♠3]
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> Dr Dre had a high card: [♦A] [♥Q] [♦10] [♣9] [♣8]
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> Ophidian had a pair: [♣8] [♥8] [♦10] [♣9] [♦7]
[01:33] <+Texas-Holdem> Ophidian wins the game with €80000! You are a master player